For those of you who have given birth in both countries:

For those of you who have given birth in the states and the uk: What differences stood out the most between your prenatal care in the states and antenatal care in the uk? What advice would you have for women who are going to give birth for the first time in the uk?

I had DD (natural birth) in the UK, DS1 in the US (planed induction) and DS2  in the UK (emergency section)  I was happy with how both places were for the most part really, they were just different.

I would say the biggest difference in prenatal care is that the UK is very much hands off and midwife led as long as you are considered "normal".  DS2 was born just this past march and I think I only had maybe 10 standard appts the whole time.  No internal check or anything like that. Usually just 2 ultrasounds too.  I felt that even with what felt like a more laid back approach as soon as there was something a little out of the norm I was encouraged to go in for monitoring or booked to see a consultant but as long as everything was smooth they just let you get on.

As we are both american and had our first here and all my family and friends were there I felt like I got a lot of funny looks when I talked about my experience to people back home.  They were unsure of the whole midwife thing and the fact that I didn't have to go in for appointments all the time. 

In hindsight I preferred the UK approach because I was pretty much "normal" most if the time and wasn't a fan of lots of appts and staying in the hospital too long or anything and I had a positive experience with it all.

As far as antenatal- i really liked that the come to see you at home and you don't really stay at the hospital too long although I could feel like a rush if its your first. Sometime the health visitors have advice I don't fully agree with but I do use them as a resource and our one now helped convince the GP get DS1 to see a consultant for his allergies.   

Hope that helps some but feel free to ask specific questions

I had pretty much the same thoughts/experiences as TMFIGY.  I liked the laid back approach of midwife led care in the UK with my first.  I got annoyed at all the fussing and unnecessary tests in the US with my second.  Part of that was probably because I had a toddler at home, so finding time to go get an ultrasound every 4 weeks was a pain in the butt.  The home visits for after care in the UK were awesome. 

The one big difference was during delivery.  In the UK, I felt I really had to push for an epidural.  I feel like the preferred method is gas and air or natural and that just was not what I wanted.  Luckily, I am a pretty persistent nag, so I got it when I  wanted it, but I did have to listen to a lot of arguments from the midwives, as to why i should try and hold off.  In the US, they gave me an epidural before I was even really needed it. 

I got annoyed at all the fussing and unnecessary tests in the US with my second.  Part of that was probably because I had a toddler at home, so finding time to go get an ultrasound every 4 weeks was a pain in the butt.    

See, that's not been my experience at all in the US and I'm considered AMA. My OB wouldn't see me until I was even 8 weeks along. I had an ultrasound to date the pregnancy and make sure it was viable, then I had blood drawn. I could have had another ultrasound at 12 weeks, but I declined it and there was no issue. We had an anatomy scan at 20 weeks which is standard in the UK as well. With my first pregnancy I had a scan at 36 weeks to see what position the baby was in for delivery, but since I'm having a scheduled c-section with the second, I'm not sure I'll have that one again. So, that's 3 total scans, 4 if I had done the 12 week one. I've never had an internal exam. I'll do the glucose tolerance test for gestational diabetes, but I could decline that too if I wanted.

I have appointments once per month where they check my urine, we hear the heartbeat, they take my blood pressure, and they check for swelling in my feet and hands. Once it gets closer (maybe from 30 weeks?) I'll start having appointments every 2 weeks, then from 36 weeks I'll go in every week. So, I'll have anywhere from 10-15 appointments, total.

Sorry to horn in on this thread, but it does annoy me sometimes when people talk about how hands off the UK is compared to the US. I think, just like in the UK, you kind of have to be your own advocate. You don't HAVE to do anything you don't want to do. The main differences I've seen between my UK friend's births and mine is that they didn't have epidurals, they were very often not in a private room after delivery (my one friend even had to walk down the hall to go to the bathroom), and they left the hospital within 24 hours of delivery.

Thanks for your responses. I've had two children in California and I just found out that I am pregnant with number 3. I have transitioned to most of the differences really well, but it is a little more difficult now that I am raging with hormones LOL. The idea of not having a private room after birth is really intimidating to me. My previous two were c-sections. I wonder if I could attempt a vbac since it has been so long (almost 5 years) since my last one. I really don't like being in a hospital and with a c/s I would be there for at least 24 hours. With a vbac I could go home sooner. I sort of mentioned this at my booking in appointment and the midwife actually scoffed and told me it was out of the question, but I figured, she was just old and didn't know the latest research.

I think, just like in the UK, you kind of have to be your own advocate. You don't HAVE to do anything you don't want to do.

Well said. I spent a lot of time choosing my doctors in the states because I like the idea of having "health partners". Doctors may be experts in a particular field, but I am the expert on my body. I want someone to partner with me so we can share our different knowledge and I can be healthy and comfortable. I tend to freak out when a stranger tries to tell me what I have to do with my body. So, obviously, pregnancy isn't my favorite stage of life. I am hoping that I will get lucky and this experience won't be too traumatic. I hope that if I know a little about what to expect I can prepare myself and not freak out too badly.

I think at the hospital with DS2 I could've paid for a private room at the NHS hospital.  I do remember a lady asking during the tour so maybe check into it.  I would also ask about the vbac and see if a consultant will sign you off- it never hurts to keep asking.

If you go in the midwife unit at my hospital you have a private room, but not in the regular ward.  I'm pretty sure that a vbac would mean being on the regular ward.

I have two daughters, and I had one here, and one in the USA.

If you go Private here, they will do whatever you want.

We went Private!

Just had my second daughter (Dec 17th) here in the UK (first was born in the US). Overall, I had great experiences both times. In the states, I searched out to have a midwife and had to have a lot of things in my birth plan to support a natural birth (with little monitoring, etc) but all of that was honored by my hospital.

In the UK, the majority of those things were standard, so that was a non issue. They were very hands off here, to include you bringing EVERYTHING you need at the hospital (nappies, wipes, towels for me for the shower, etc) but I liked that. I imagine for a first time parent it may be a bit daunting, but they treat you as if it is your child and you take care of the baby (not in a bad way, but a practical way) whereas in the states I felt like they treated you as if you had no clue and had to be "trained" in a way. Hard to explain, but I appreciated the medical care here. We stayed in our labor room for hours with little interruption and intervention. We were able to go home hours after the birth which was nice (though we could've stayed longer if wanted). I think it is what you make of it either place.

My opinion is that it depends on how medical you want your birth to be, which will determine yoru feelings on US vs UK birth  and how much you want to be your own advocate.

Thanks for all the advice. Unfortunately I found out at my scan that my pregnancy was not viable. I took some time off to process everything and am ready to try again. How do I "go private"? Do I purchase insurance ahead of time (if so how?), or do I pay cash?